Ad Breaks
Like many podcasts, Mission to Zyxx generates revenue via sponsored advertisements in the form of ad breaks, typically one or two delivered during the course of most regular season episodes. Mission to Zyxx however is unusual in that it uses the voice actors an/or guests as minor characters from the show to deliver the copy in character. The ad breaks are consistent with the show's canon and characterizations, occasionally delivering plot points or foreshadowing for the main story line. The content only rarely addresses the content of the specific episode it is featured in. Some characters in ad breaks are returning characters while others first appear as voiced characters within the ad. The convention of the ads vary in both the medium of the delivery (radio communication, encrypted audio transmission or email, third person omniscient, etc.) and the target audience of the message (the listener, or a specified or unspecified character within the show.) Rarely an ad break will feature no sponsor but for the sake of this page will be considered as one since it is presented in the same format as one with a sponsor. Season 1 Season 1 ads feature three rotating characters, all of whom first appear within the ads: Rolphus Tiddle, Seesu Gundu, and Hark Tartigast. Rolphus and Seesu deliver solo communications throughout the season as leaders within the Rebellion, often to say which sponsor is supporting the Rebellion, while calling the Federated Alliance names. In the last episode of Season 1, the two appear together to reveal that they were previously married. Hark Tartigast's ads provide for a season long arc of Hark narrowly escaping death, one cliffhanger after another. All three characters appear only within in ads in S1 but make appearances with the crew of The Bargarean Jade in Season 2. *First appearance/mention Season 2 Season 2 ad breaks become more elaborate in their setup and expand the characters featured beyond the Season 1 trio of Seesu Gundu, Rolphus Tiddle, and Hark Tardigast. All three of these characters continue to appear in S2 ads while also appearing as characters within the plot of many S2 episodes. While the Seesu and Rolphus storylines are explored more deeply within the episodes, Hark's story and adventures in hyperspace continues solely within the ad breaks after his appearance in episode 201. Additional characters are most members of the Council of Seven as well as other popular minor characters from S1 such as Finniford J. Ryan, various Bartenders, Sammo and Wink, and Lieutenant Bordoff. *First appearance/mention Season 3 With the switch to Maximum Fun, Mission to Zyxx in Season 3 introduces more traditional style advertisements which exclusively appear between the C-RED-I-T-5 show credits and the end episode blooper reel. These post-episode ads appear in episodes 303 through 320 and include the Mailbag 4 Bonusode, and live episodes L06 and L07. The addition of these advertisements lead to a less frequent use of ad breaks than in S1 and S2 with most episodes featuring only one ad break, several even being ad break free. The complexity of Season 3 ad breaks continue to increase in both premise and the interesting use of very minor characters, some previously seen and others making their premiere. Information on several major S3 arcs such as the rise of the Sparx Knights or the mystery of Bargie's wrongdoing is presented. See Trivia section below for examples. No S3 ads feature Seesu Gundu, Rolphus Tiddle, or Hark Tartigast. *First appearance/mention Ad Break Free Episodes * Episode 100, Welcome Aboard the Bargarean Jade, the promotional episode of the series, contains no advertisements other than a launch date for the premiere. * Episodes 301, Down With the Emperor! and 302, Jennifer's Bargie are ad break free and also contain no post-C-RED-I-T-5 advertisements. Instead, Alden Ford and Seth Lind, supported by the entire cast, lead pre-episode and post-episode promotions for the show, outlining the move to MaximumFun and explaining the need for listener support. * Episode 305, Bad Grandma contains no ad breaks. * Episode 320 Trivia (and Unusual Set-Ups) * In Season 1 ad breaks, the Federated Alliance is described as lame (three times, including once as lame-o), annoying, venal, cruel (twice), crooked, oppressive, gnarly, stupid-ass, corrupt, dumb-dumb, janky, and loathsome. * In Episode 214, the entire ad is delivered in Juntawa, with the speaker's only other words being 'slash' and the spelling out of 'z-y-x-x'. * In Episode 303, Turk Manniket makes a posthumous appearance, this time as a holo at the Holowood tourist attraction, The Tiny Toots' Memorial Museum. * In Episode 308, an unnamed customer is returning a sandwich in a sandwich shop and overhears the ad break from Holowood Tonight, presumably as the ad break plays on the holo-television at the shop. * In Episode 319, the ad break appears as part of the plot with Quaid Blizmo doing the product placement within the holo show of Pump Up the Justice. Category:World Building Category:Meta Category:Season 1 Category:Season 2 Category:Season 3